Barry recently gave an interview to Slate political reporter David Weigel, who asked the infamous politician to compare how the media has treated him and Ford. Weigel suggested that Ford is seen as more of a "clownish" figure.

"He's not connected to me," Barry said. "He doesn't have my historical record of achievement."

Barry gave a similar answer when TMZ asked him about Ford a month ago, adding that he was too busy dealing with his own constituents to worry about Toronto's mayor.

But Barry also suggested in the Slate interview that he has been paying attention to recent news about Ford.

"He's making a fool of himself," he said. "He shouldn't use the fact that he’s been abusing drugs as an excuse for being a fool.

"I sympathize with him, I know what he's going through, but I don't agree with what he's doing."

As a city councillor back in 2005, Ford sparked controversy by speaking out against city funding for LGBTQ programs.
"I don't understand. Number one, I don’t understand a transgender. I don’t understand. Is it a guy dressed up like a girl, or a girl dressed up like a guy? And we’re funding this for – I don’t know, what does it say here – we’re giving them $3,210?"

Four years before becoming mayor, Ford voted against the city spending $1.5 million to fight AIDS.
"If you are not doing needles and you are not gay, you wouldn’t get AIDS probably," he said in council chambers. "That’s the bottom line.... How are women getting it? Maybe they are sleeping with bisexual men."

Then, just three years before becoming mayor, Ford said the city shouldn't be "supporting sexuality" with taxpayer money.
"Do we have a straight parade? Do we have a heterosexual parade? Do we fund that? No, so I don't know why (are we) funding other things like that?"

Since becoming mayor in 2010, Ford has consistently avoided the Pride parade, always maintaining it conflicts with an annual trip to the family cottage.
However, during a debate in February, Ford admitted he does not participate because it's just the way he is
"I'm not going to go to the Pride parade," he said. "I've never gone to a Pride parade. So I'm not going to change the way I am."

According to The Toronto Star, Ford called Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau a "f-g" in the 2013 video that appeared to show him smoking crack.

Ford took exception to a rainbow flag raised at City Hall in support of gay athletes competing in the Sochi Olympics. Russia passed a number of heinous anti-gay laws this year.
"This is about the Olympics, this is about being patriotic to your country," he said. "This is not about somebody's sexual preference."
Ford was unsuccessful in his attempt to have the flag removed.

Ford was recorded in an Etobicoke bar in April criticizing former Ontario PC leader Tim Hudak for agreeing that a rainbow flag should also fly at Queen's Park during the Olympics.
Ford suggested Hudak just went along with what a "gay organization" wanted.
"Tim Hudak comes out and says 'yeah I agree with all the gays,'" Ford is heard saying. The mayor said Hudak "lost his vote."

In July, Ford was the sole member of council not to stand and applaud organizers and staff who worked on the WorldPride festival. He refused to say why but told reporters after that he is not homophobic.

A day after the standing ovation controversy, Ford was the only member of Toronto city council to vote against a proposal to help gay homeless youth.
The motion urged city staff to study allocating 25 per cent of beds in a youth shelter to LGBTQ+youth and possibly create a shelter just for them. It passed 37-1.